A Fight For Liberty
by Fye R Fly
Summary: ADDED TO AND REVISED! Two girls in New Jersey get involved with a dangerous gang, which eventually leads them to run for their life to New York City in 1899.Written by Mystery and I.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Any characters/things related to _Newsies_, belong to Disney, and their respective owners. Firefly and Mystery, the Liberty Gang, and Richie are the only characters that I own.

A Fight For Liberty  
by Mystery and Firefly

Summary: After getting caught by the police while robbing a house, Kaitlin and Ashlee (Members of "The Liberty" a gang in New Jersey) get on a train, and end up in New York, where they meet the newsies. While they are there, a letter to an old friend ends up bring up their past.

Chapter 1

Kaitlinslipped her accomplice a small flat pen. Ashlee took the pen and slipped it into the lock of the house. She turned it slowly and waited to hear the small click, confirming that the door was unlocked. Kaitlin slowly and silently opened the door and they walked in, letting their eyes adjust to the blackness. As their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, the girls saw the outline of a stairway. Kaitlin continued to walk forward, not really sure where she was going. After a minute, she found the first step, and began to slowly walk up the stairs, with Ashlee following. She turned left at the top of the stairs, running right into a cabinet. "Ouch!" she said as quietly as she could, and bent down to touch the scrape on her leg, which was bleeding.

"Shhh." Ashlee whispered taking the lead. Wrapping her bandanna around the cut, Kaitlin followed Ashlee into the master bedroom. "Jackpot," Ashlee mumbled opening up the jewelry box and pulling out some jewelry. "I'll check over there," Kaitlin whispered, heading to the nightstand with a box on it in the corner of the room. Opening it u p, she was pleased to find many papers inside, concerning business deals. Ashlee emptied the jewelry box into a bag, and Kaitlin dumped the business deals in the back as well. Right as they turned around to leave the lights flickered on, and the police blocked the doorway. Ashlee and Kaitlin froze in their tracks as the police grabbed the back and tied their wrists together with rope. The two girls were then hauled off to the police station.

Kaitlin and Ashlee soon found themselves sitting across from a short, skinny, man at the station. "So what have you got to say for yourselves young ladies?" the man asked, crossing his arms and looking expectantly at the girls. Kaitlin and Ashlee, still in shock about getting caught, simply shrugged their shoulders. The man sighed "Alright, but you aren't helping your case any. Now I know you two are part of a local gang called "The Liberty." We've been trying to track them down for months. If you kids could supply us with the names of the members and their hideout, we'll let you go, scotch free."

Kaitlin and Ashlee looked at each other, then Kaitlin turned to the policeman. "How do you know we're part of this gang? For all you know we could have been robbing that house for our own profit, and not for some gang. "

The officer sighed and rolled his eyes. "It wasn't too hard to figure out. All I had to do was look at your wrist bands." The girls looked down at their wristbands, suddenly trying to cover them up. "

"So, if we give you the names what will we get in return?" Ashlee asked carefully.

"I'll let you go free," the officer replied simply, as if it should be obvious to them. Ashlee and Kaitlin exchanged glances once more, trying to figure out if they should tell or not.

Finally, Kaitlin turned to the officer and asked, "What will we get if we don't give you the names?"

"10 to 15 years. I don't have all day either. You either give me the names or you don't."

"We'll give them to you," Ashlee spoke up. The officer nodded and picked up his pen as the girls began to rattle of names, places, upcoming robberies and plans.

After the officer had gotten what he needed, he showed them to the door, "I would be careful if I were you," he warned and then went back into his office.

"We need to get out here," Kaitlin said speaking for the two of them.

Ashlee nodded. "Where to?"

"Wherever the train is headed at this hour I guess..." Kaitlin replied.

They hurried to the train station, constantly looking over their shoulders, half expecting a gang member to pop and grab them. "They couldn't possibly know that we've betrayed them yet," Kaitlin whispered as Ashlee looked back for the umpteenth time that night.

"I guess not, but it still makes me nervous. All we know is that we've got to get out of New Jersey...fast!" Ashlee responded, as they headed for the train yard.

When they reached the station, Kaitlin and Ashlee counted their money. They found out they didn't even have enough money to buy one train ticket. Ashlee sighed. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Well..." Kaitlin responded slowly, "We could try and hitch a ride in the baggage car. All we need to do is sneak past that man over there." Kaitlin pointed to a big, tall man standing near the baggage cart.

Ashlee nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard, when he's busy with someone, we'll make a dash for the luggage car."

They waited for the man to get engrossed in a conversation, and then they made a run for the baggage car. They jumped in and closed the door. "Hopefully no one has any more luggage," Kaitlin replied as she and Ashlee hid among the bags.

"If they do, we'll just have to make sure no one sees us," Ashlee whispered as she pushed a larger bag in front of her. "Besides the train looks pretty full anyway... where do you think it's going?"

"Who cares? As long as it's out of here, and we never have to see the rest of the gang again," Kaitlin answered. "You don't think that they'll try and track us down....do you?" Kaitlin whispered as she leaned back against the side of the car. Then she answered her own question, "Of course they wouldn't... They wouldn't because- " she stopped short as she heard voices outside the car.

"This is the last bag... I'll just put it in and close the baggage car and then we can get going," one man said.

"Be careful, there are very fragile things in that bag..." The man said nervously.

The other man nodded and said, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I'll just put it over in the corner." Kaitlin and Ashlee held their breath and ducked down as the man put the bag in and looked around one last time before locking up the car.

"Boy, that was close..." Ashlee whispered relieved they weren't caught. They leaned back, closed their eyes, and tried to relax as the train continued on it's way to wherever it was going.

In a few hours the train stopped, and Ashlee and Kaitlin peeked out of the car. "Alright, the coast is clear. Lets get out of here!"

Ashlee and Kaitlin jumped from the car, and tried to walk as casually as possible, so they wouldn't be noticed. Ashlee looked at a sign, "Grand Central Station." She read aloud. She turned to Kaitlin, "Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, we're in New York." Kaitlin answered, looking at her surroundings.

"New York! Well I guess it's a good enough place as any. I don't think that the gang will think of looking for us here." Ashlee replied as they started walking away from the station.

Without noticing where they were going they bumped into two young guys, one with a red bandanna around his neck and the other with a cigar in his mouth. "Excuse us." Said the two boys,

"We weren't lookin' where we'se was goin." Said the boy in the red bandanna with a New York accent.

"Dat's foin. It was our faults too." Kaitlin answered picking up the accent perfectly.

"I'm Racetrack." Answered the boy with the cigar, holding out his hand. "And dis heah is Jack, also known as Cowboy."

Ashlee laughed, "Cowboy, an' Racetrack? What kind of names are dose?"

"Newsie names." Answered Jack.

Kaitlin stared at them, "Newsie names?" she asked. "What are newsies?"

"We'se are newsies, we sell papes fer a livin'" Racetrack answered.

Kaitlin and Ashlee looked at each other, as the same thought ran through their minds, "we could do this, and we'd blend in."

"Can anyone be a newsie?" Ashlee asked.

"Well, we'se nevah had a goil be a newsie befoah, but dere's a foirst t'ing fer everyt'ing." Race answered.

"So what are yer names," Jack asked.

The two girls gulped. Kaitlin racked her brain. "Newsie could make one..." she thought to herself. "Fiahfly!" Kaitlin blurted out the first name that came to her mind.

"Noice ta meet ya, Fiahfly." Said Racetrack shaking her hand.

"I'se uh...Mystery." Ashlee answered thinking of the last book that she had just finished.

"Heya, Mystery." Jack grinned, shaking her hand.

Racetrack laughed, "for not knowin' what a newsie name was, you two shoah thought up one fast."

"Well I'se take it dat you'se two wanna become a newsie, so why don't ya follow us." Jack offered, putting his unsold papers on his rope.

Ashlee and Kaitlin walked behind their two new friends. "Do you think this is going to work?" Ashlee whispered to Kaitlin.

"I don't see why it wouldn't. And anyway, this way it'll be harder for the gang to find us, if they decided to look for us." Kaitlin answered. "And it better work or we're in trouble."

"Did ya say somethin'?" Jack asked, turning around. He had been yelling out headlines and hadn't really heard them.

"No," Mystery said quickly. "We didn't say anythin'."

"'Ere," Racetrack said handing Firefly some newspapers, "Why don'tcha see 'ow ya do? Jus' yell out da 'eadlines an' people will come ova an' buy dem," he explained.

Jack handed Mystery some of his papers, "'Ere ya can give it a try ta." Mystery looked over at Firefly wondering what to do, but Firefly took the papers from Racetrack and began to call out headlines, and Mystery followed her lead.

"Not dat bad," Jack said. "Da foirst t'ing ya gotta loirn is dat headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes."

Racetrack rolled his eyes. "Let's not start dis talk again. Dey're doin' fine for da foirst time. C'mon I'll take ya ta Tibby's an' introduce ya ta da rest of da guys. Where are ya goils from anyways?"

"Virginia," Firefly answered, while at the same time, Mystery said, "Connecticut." They exchanged glances, and Firefly said quickly, "We're both from different places. We met on da train comin' up 'ere."

"So what brought ya ta New Yoirk?" Jack asked as he led them to Tibby's. He thought their answer was a little odd but he decided not to question it.

Firefly shrugged. "No reason, just got on a train and decided to ride it to wherever it ended up, and ended up here."

Mystery nodded. "Same here... just needed to get away for a while. Change of scenery. Dis Tibby's?" she asked as they stopped in from of a restaurant.

Race nodded. "Yep, dis would be Tibby's. Dis is where all da newsies 'ang out when dey're not at Medda's."

"Medda's? What's dat?" Mystery asked as she walked inside. Almost every table was taken.

"Medda's a good friend of mine, she owns Vaudeville Hall. She lets the newsies see da shows fer free, you'll meet 'er later," Jack said leading them over to a booth in the corner. "Mystery, Firefly, dese are da guys, guys dese are Mystery and Firefly. Dis is Boots, Skittery, Bumlets, Mush, Kid Blink. Ova at dat table is Specs, Snoddy, Pie Eater, David, Snipeshooter, an' dat ova dere is Crutchy."

"Nice ta meet ya," Firefly said trying to commit every name to memory.

Mystery echoed the greeting and they sat down at the table. "Dey'll be stayin' wid us at da Lodgin' house. Dey're gonna be Newsies," Racetrack said pulling out his cards. "Anybody up fer a game of poker?"

"Sure! I'll play!" Firefly exclaimed. Poker was one of her favorite games, and she and Mystery were pretty good players back in New Jersey. "Mystery, want to play?" she asked her.

"Sure, why not?" she answered.

"Count me in," Jack answered sitting down, and Mush and Blink came over to play. Racetrack shuffled and then dealt the cards. After everybody had made their starting bets, he asked everybody how many cards they wanted.

Firefly looked at her hand shuffling the cards around for a minute, and then asked for two. Mystery, looked at hers also, but only needed one. Blink and Mush each needed three, and Jack needed one. The rest of the game proceeded, and after the last bet was placed; it was time to reveal what everybody had. "Full house," Firefly answered, putting her hand down.

"Three of a kind," Mystery said putting her hand down. Mush had two pair, and Blink had a pair. Jack and Race each had nothing, and Firefly ended up winning the game.

"Good job, Fiahfly!" Mystery congratulated her friend.

"Yeah, good job. Where'd ya learn ta play so good?" Racetrack asked, in awe at her playing skills.

"Oh, I learned from some of me friends back in Virginia," Firefly answered, shuffling the deck of cards. "Another game?"

"Nah, I'se gotta get back ta me selling." Jack said.

"Yeah, same wid me." Race agreed. "Hey, you goils can come wid us, an' we'll teach ya more 'bout sellin papes."

Mystery and Firefly looked at each other, "Shoah, dat's foin."

Jack and Race got up from the table, and left some money on it. Mystery and Firefly did the same.

Back on the streets, Jack and Race started calling headlines, while Mystery and Firefly trailed behind them.

Jack turned to face Mystery, and held out a couple of papers. "'Ere, now you try, afta seein' me do it fer a while." Mystery took the papers, and called out the headlines, expanding the headlines as Jack had been doing.

Race turned and handed Firefly some papers. "'Ere ya go, you'se can try again, an' tamorra we'll get ya yer own papes."

"Thanks," Firefly answered, giving Race a smile and grabbing the papers. She turned around and started hawking the headlines around Mystery.

"Thank ya, very much," Mystery thanked a lady, as she handed her the paper, and taking the money.

"I've noticed there are so many newsies here that the gang will never be able to find us!" Mystery whispered, to Firefly, as she was handing an old man a paper, and sticking the money in her pocket.

"Yep, plus, we found ourselves a job, and a place to live! Talk about luck." Firefly answered.

Finally they were finished selling their papers, and went back to Jack and Race.

Racetrack stood by Jack, as he finished selling his last paper. "Well, let's go by da Lodging House, and get ya goils settled in."

Jack fell in step with Mystery, as she followed Firefly, who followed Race. "So what's it loik in Connecticut?" Jack asked, innocently.

"Uh..." Mystery looked at the street as she walked. She had never been to Connecticut, and didn't know what to say. "Oh, it's just loik a normal place, nothin' special wid it." She answered, nonchalantly. Jack gave her a strange look, but didn't push her any farther.

Finally they reached the Lodging House. "'Ere it is, home sweet home." Race said, opening the door for Firefly.

"'Eya, Kloppman, I'se got ya two new borders!" Jack said to the old man behind the desk.

Kloppman looked at Firefly and Mystery, "Girls?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah, goils, dey can sleep in da spare room you'se got 'ere." Jack told him, grabbing two form sheets from behind the desk. "Here, just fill out this form, and hand it back to Kloppman." He said, handing the girls the sheets. "Ya do know how to write, roight?" He asked just to make sure.

"Yes," they answered, taking the two sheets from him.

Racetrack handed them two pencils, "'Ere."

9


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
  
The next morning, Kloppman went to wake the guys up as usual, and then went to wake up Firefly and Mystery. "Wake up, time ta sell da papes!" he said shaking them until they woke up.  
  
Firefly grumbled, "What time is it?"  
  
"Ah, it's 'bout 5:30," Kloppman told her, then went to Mystery, "C'mon get up, time ta sell da papes!"  
  
"Five thirty?!?!?! Ya gotta be nuts!" Firefly exclaimed, reluctantly getting up and getting dressed. "Well, this certainly is a change," she mumbled to Mystery who was also getting ready.  
  
"Yeah yer tellin' me, I got spoiled when we didn't 'ave ta get until 10," Mystery said between yawns. "Maybe this wasn't such a great idea."  
  
"Nah, dis is a great idea, dere isn't any bettah way ta fit in 'round 'ere. Besides, it could be interesting, some of the guys are pretty cute..."  
  
Mystery rolled her eyes. "Only you would say dat."  
  
"Oh, c'mon, even ya have ta admit they're pretty cute... a lot cuter than Christian."  
  
Mystery glared at her. "I thought we were going to forget Christian. But just so you know, no one is cuter than Christian..." she grinned, remembering the leader of the gang, that she had really liked.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, c'mon, let's go, we don't want to be late." She left the room and walked into the washroom to brush her teeth, nodding to the guys. "Heya."  
  
"Heya, Mystery, Firefly," Jack said when he saw them, "Have a hard time getting up?"  
  
Mystery nodded, "Yeah, it was torture... don't know if I can stand getting up this early every day."  
  
"You'll get used to it," Mush told her. "It's not all that bad if you don't stay out all night."  
  
Crutchy came hobbling next to Mush, "Yeah, it ain't dat bad if ya guys don't stay up late."  
  
The boys left the washroom, giving the girls space to brush their teeth.   
  
When they were finished, they walked out of the washroom, and practically bumped into Race and Jack. "Heya guys, standing awful close to da washroom, ain't ya?" Mystery commented.  
  
Jack laughed, "Yeah, well we'se was waitin fer ya two. Do ya goils wanna sell papes wid us taday?"  
  
"Sure," Firefly answered.  
  
"Alright, follow us to da Distribution Center." Race told them.  
  
Race led them to the Distribution Center, and as usual, they were the first ones in line.  
  
"Weasel! Mr. Weasel!" Jack called, knocking on the window.  
  
Mystery and Firefly heard the footsteps of a heavy man from behind the window. "I'm coming, hold yer horses!"  
  
Then the green door opened, and Mr. Weasel appeared. "I told you, Cowboy, it's Weisel! And you don't even need to ask, Cowboy, I didn't miss you. So how many?"  
  
Jack laughed, and put down 50 cents. "Da usual."  
  
Mystery came up behind him, and put down her 50 cents, "100 papes, please."  
  
Weasel looked at the girl, and then at Jack. "Is this some joke? Girls aren't Newsies."  
  
Jack went back up to Weasel, 'Well dere's a foirst time fer everyt'ing, roight? So just give her the papes."  
  
Weasel sighed, and handed the papers to Mystery. Then Firefly came after her, and put down her 50 cents, "Same."  
  
Racetrack came up, "Heya, do ya t'ink ya can spot me two bits? I know dat numbah t'ree's gonna win taday, I'se got a really hot tip."  
  
Weasel sighed again, "You an' yer hot tips, when are dey gonna start payin' off?" And then handed Race his papers.  
  
Racetrack took them, then walked towards Firefly, Mystery, and Jack, smiling. "Anddah successful mornin'," he said to Jack.  
  
Jack grinned, "Yeah, ya do 'ave a way of weaselin' papes outta Weasel!"  
  
"I'm guessin' dat ya don't do very well at da tracks?" Firefly commented.  
  
"I do alright. Even if I do win, I'd neva tell Weasel," Racetrack admitted. "Den 'e would expect me ta pay fer my papes."  
  
Firefly nodded. "Who are dose guys?" she asked pointing to two boys who had come up behind Weasel and were staring at them.  
  
Jack turned around. "Oh dey're Morris an' Oscar. Weasel is dere uncle, I would stay away from dem, dey aren't da nicest people. Anyway where do ya want ta sell?"  
  
Mystery shrugged. "I dunno... I don't really know dat many places 'round 'ere. Where would ya suggest?"  
  
"'Ow 'bout Central Park? We got 'ere pretty early so dere won't be many of the other newsies dere," Racetrack suggested. The other nodded, and started calling out headlines as they started walking towards Central Park.  
  
Firefly opened up one of her papers trying to look for a good headline to call out, or a good one to improve. "Remembah," Jack reminded her when he saw her looking for a headline, "headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes."  
  
"Yeah," Firefly said and then mumbled, "but da headlines sure do help..."  
  
Mystery sold some of her papers on the way to Central Park. "This isn't dat hard," She commented about thirty minutes later when she and Firefly only had a few papers left each.  
  
"Not once ya get da hang of it," Jack answered, he had already finished selling all of his papers, and he was sitting on a bench, waiting for them to finish. "I'll introduce ya ta Medda when yer done."  
  
"Her show should be startin' soon, so maybe we can even catch some of 'er act," Race added, "Thank ya," he said selling his last pape to a lady walking nearby.  
  
"Done," Firefly said as she finished up selling her papers, Mystery sold her last one a few minutes later. "So how'd ya end up at da lodgin' house?"  
  
"Ah, dey needed a leader an' dey knew I'd be poirfect fer da job, so dey came an' asked me," Jack said with a smile.   
  
"Now dat's an exaggeration, dat's not how ya got ta da lodgin' house," Racetrack informed them. "He got put in da refuge fer stealin' some food, den 'e busted out, an' came ta da lodgin' house. We didn't go an' get 'im. As fer 'im becomin' leader, dat jus' sorta 'appened when da old leadah left."  
  
"What 'bout ya?" Mystery asked Racetrack. "How'd ya get ta da lodgin' house?"  
  
Race shrugged. "Jus' didn't 'ave anywhere else ta go dat's all. 'Ere we are. Dis is Irving Hall." He held the door open for them, and they went in. "Medda? Ya 'ere?"  
  
Medda walked out from behind the stage. "Racetrack? Jack? Hello boys!"  
  
Medda was dressed in a purple colored dress, which looked a little small for her, and her reddish colored hair was pulled up and held up by a purple hair piece. In her hand she held a very large purple feather, and she wore a lot of makeup. "She looks like she could go a little easier on the makeup," Firefly whispered to Mystery, who nodded in agreement.  
  
"Medda dis is Mystery an' Firefly. Dey're newsies, dat are now stayin' at da lodgin' house," Jack said introducing them.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Medda said smiling. "Velcome to Irving Hall! How are you?"  
  
"Fine thanks," Mystery replied.  
  
"Vell, the show is about to start, why don't you find a seat and enjoy it?" She said motioning to the rows of seats behind her with her feather.  
  
"Sounds good, see you later, Medda," Racetrack said taking a seat in one of the last rows. Firefly sat down next to him, and Jack and Mystery sat down next to her.  
  
Mystery and Firefly watched in disgust as they watched the immodest Medda flutter about the stage, waving her feather at young boys. They looked over at the boys, and saw them watching the purple blob dance around on the stage.  
  
"What the heck do they see in her?" Mystery whispered to Firefly.  
  
"Beats me, I can't stand watching her any longer. I'm going outside till the show's over, want to come?" Firefly answered.  
  
"Yeah, anything is better then watching that her flutter around the stage." Mystery answered, then turning to Jack, she whispered, "Firefly and I are going to go outside for some fresh air for a little while, see you after the show."  
  
Jack turned his eyes from the stage, "alright, see you in a little while. We'll be right out after the show, don't go very far, or you might get lost."  
  
Mystery nodded, and waited till Firefly finished telling Race they were going outside for a while.  
  
When they were outside, Mystery looked at Firefly, "You know I've been thinking, I kind of feel bad about leaving Richie so suddenly, and not telling him where we were going. I mean he has to be wondering where we are after not seeing us for a few days."  
  
Firefly nodded, "Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. I mean he's been a good friend to us for years, I think that he deserves to know where we are. I guess we should write a letter and explain things to him."  
  
Mystery and Firefly sat down on some seats next to the door of the Hall, and waited for the boys to come out.  
  
About half an hour later, Jack and Race came out of the building. "Heya, ya two. Are ya ready ta go back to da lodging house?"   
  
"Yeah, we'se ready." Firefly answered.  
  
The four of them went back to the lodging house, and Mystery and Firefly went to their room. "Night, see ya in da mornin'" Mystery said.  
  
The next morning, Firefly got up early and wrote the letter to Richie, and she and Mystery signed it before taking it over to the post office. "I made sure to tell him that he couldn't tell anyone," Firefly said, as she dropped the letter in the box. "Hopefully he won't." Mystery nodded in agreement and they both went to get their papers. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
  
Christian slammed his fist on the table. "We have to get those two back NOW!!!!"   
  
"That's what we're trying to do, Boss, but we can't find them anywhere. It seems like they just disappeared from New Jersey." Said a boy, timidly.  
  
"Well you obviously aren't trying hard enough because they are still missing. Now we've been able to dodge the policemen, but I know that they gave out our names, and I want them back now before they cause anymore information." Christian told the boy.  
  
"But what if they left the state?" the boy suggested.  
  
Christian rolled his eyes, "'left the state?' You have to be kidding. Do you think that 2 girls with no money would be able to leave New Jersey without one of my boys seeing them? Heck, they wouldn't be able to even get out of here without being caught by the police again."  
  
"Well, what if the police still have them in jail? You know, to get more information out of them?"  
  
"No, the policemen would have had to bribe those girls to get the information, and the way they would was giving them their freedom. Do you know who they might write to, or contact? You know, like a relative, or friend?" Christian asked, pacing.  
  
"What I know is that they don't have any relatives, but I'll go check on who their friends are, right away, Boss."   
  
"Good, now you may be dismissed, and I want that information back as soon as possible. No dawdling." Christian said, piercing his blue eyes at the small boy.  
  
"Yes, Sir, right away, Boss. I'll get right on that now." The boy told him, shaking all over.  
  
"Good." With that the boy left, and Christian continued to pace, racking his mind for a way to find Kaitlin and Ashlee.  
  
He closed the door to his "office", if you could call it that. It was a small, barren room, with a concrete floor, and a desk in the middle. He had two chairs in front of it, like many people have in front of their desks, although he rarely asked people to sit, he just let them in, yelled orders at them and then ordered them to leave. A picture of his dad was on the wall, next to the Liberty symbol, which matched the one that he, and others in the gang wore on his arm. A small filing cabinet stood in the corner, all the drawers neat, except for the last one, which had papers sticking out of it, in every which way. He sat down behind his desk, and pulled out a cigarette. He was about to call someone in, when he saw something on his desk, out of the corner of his eye. Picking it up, he realized it was the room assignments for the month. "MATTHEW!" He yelled. In an instant a boy came into the room.  
  
"Yes, sir?" Matthew looked like the typical gang member. He was tall, and very strong, from working out, and he was wearing a loose fitting shirt and black pants. The band with the Liberty symbol on it was on his upper arm.  
  
"What in the heck is this?" Christian demanded, showing him the paper.  
  
"That would be the room assignments for the month, sir. They changed since we moved the headquarters because of the cops, we figured you would want a copy, sir," Matthew answered.  
  
"You figured? Don't you think that you should check with me and see if I want a copy first? Anyway, where were Kaitlin and Ashlee staying?" Christian asked, standing up and throwing the copy of the chart back down on his desk.  
  
Matthew thought for a minute, trying to get a look at the chart. "Room four, sir."  
  
Christian nodded. "I want a full search on that room. Go send someone to find that boy I sent out, and tell him there has been a change of plans. Then come back here, and he and I will go over to the old headquarters and search their room. I will not have anyone screwing this up. The police still know too much, we are still in danger."  
  
Matthew nodded. "Yes, Sir," and then he left.  
  
Christian sat back down and lit his cigarette he had dropped when finding the chart, and waited for Matthew to come back. He didn't have to wait long. Soon the boy and Matthew, were back in his office. "Good, let's go. Now we're looking for anything, anybody that they might have talked to before or after going," he told them as they walked to their old headquarters. It wasn't very far away, and they continued for a few minutes in silence. When they reached the old headquarters, Christian walked inside, and then turned to Matthew. "Alright, take me to their room."  
  
Matthew led Christian, and the boy, to room number four, and unlocked it, leading them in. The room was fairly clean, only a few sheets of paper lay on the desk, and the beds were unmade. But other than that, the room was spotless. "Matthew, search the closet. You boy, check under the beds, and I'm going to check the desk."  
  
"Uh...sir my name is Christopher, sir," the boy said, walking over to the beds.  
  
Christian ignored him and continued to rummage through the desk, "Found something," he said when he opened up the second drawer on the left. "Here's their address book... Not too many people in here. Now I want you guys to take this and ask everyone in here if they know where they are. But don't ask people in the gang....like skip Ben, Blake, and Christina..." he flipped through the book trying to find a name that didn't look familiar. "Here ya go. Go talk to Richie. I've never heard of him before," Christian said passing the book to Matthew and Chris.  
  
"Yes, sir," Chris said, taking the book.  
  
"I'll meet you back at headquarters," Christian said, and he left them standing in the middle of the room holding the address book.  
  
"Alright, well let's go find this Richie person," Chris said looking at the address. "He doesn't live too far from here so it shouldn't be too hard to find."  
  
"Fine, but when we get there, I do all the talking. I usually do stuff like this alone, and I'd rather keep it that way, but since Christian wants you to tag along, you'll do what I tell you to," Matthew said icily.  
  
"Now that you've said that, let me get something straight. I was not told to take orders from you. So unless I am told to do so, I will not. So really, you can order me around until you're face is blue and it won't make one bit of difference," Chris replied, in the same cool tone.  
  
"Let's just get this over with." Matthew grabbed the address book out of Chris' hands and stalked out of the room, with Chris close behind him. They walked to Richie's apartment in a stony silence, and it only took a few minutes to find. Matthew walked up and knocked on the door loudly, and a short boy with brown hair and brown eyes opened it.  
  
"Heya, is there anything I can do for you?" he asked a little surprised to see Matthew standing there, even though he had no clue who he was.  
  
"Yes, we are cousins of Kaitlin and Ashlee's, and we were wondering if you knew where they were. They mentioned you were good friends, and I thought you might have an idea of where they are."  
  
"Cousins? Really? I didn't know they were related..." Richie said absentmidedly. "Sure, I got a letter from them the other day, come on in. Want something to drink?"  
  
"No that's okay, can we just see the letter?" Chris asked him.  
  
"Sure, you can keep it if you want, I have the address in my address book..." Richie said rummaging through some papers on the desk trying to find the letter. "I'm sure they'll be happy to hear from you."  
  
"Oh, they'll be dying to see us," Matthew said with a grin, "We can't wait to see them...we haven't talked to them in a while actually. We stopped talking to each other a few years ago."  
  
Richie nodded. "Here it is! I knew it was here somewhere. Anyway, here you go... when you see them tell them I said hi."  
  
"We will. We'll be sure and tell them," Chris said, taking the letter. "Thank you." They both left the apartment.  
  
"Idiot," Matthew mumbled. "That has got to be the dumbest guy I've ever seen."  
  
Chris shrugged. "Oh well, worked to our advantage. Look at this! They're newsies, up in Manhattan. Go by the names Firefly and Mystery. How dumb is that?" He burst out laughing.  
  
"Shoulda guessed it would have been something dumb like that," Matthew responded.  
  
They brought the letter straight to Christian who read it and grinned. "Guess what, boys? We get to go to New York. Manhattan to be exact, for a little visit with our friends Mystery and Firefly." He put out his cigarette, and leaned back in his chair, throwing the letter back down on the desk. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Mystery and Firefly followed Jack and Racetrack over the Brooklyn Bridge. As the boys passed over it, they looked over they side and yelled. The two girls gave weird looks to Jack and Race. "What? It's a tradition to yell off the Brooklyn Bridge." Jack informed them. Firefly and Mystery just smiled, nodded, and followed the boys across the bridge.   
  
When they reached the harbor, Mystery and Firefly looked around at their surroundings. They saw boys swimming in the water, and boys practicing shooting with a slingshot. "Now, that's what I want!" Mystery pointed to a slingshot.  
  
"Yeah, no kidding." Firefly answered.  
  
Just then a boy with dirty blond hair and sunken eyes jumped and landed down in front of them. Firefly strained her eyes, to try and figure out what color they were, and eventually noticed a hint of blue.   
  
"Heya, Jacky-boy, who are dese goils?" the boy asked, pointing his cane in their direction.  
  
"Well Spot, dis heah is Mystery, and Fiahfly. Dey're newsies in Manhattan. Goils, dis heah, is da famous, Spot Conlon." Jack answered.  
  
"Goil newsies, eh?" Spot replied, putting his cane back through his suspenders.  
  
Mystery rolled her eyes, and whispered to Firefly, "What is he, about 12? And why the heck does he need a cane, looks like he's walking alright to me."  
  
"So um...Jacky-boy, what did ya need ta see me about?" Spot asked, taking out his slingshot, and fitting a rock into it. He then let it fly, and he hit a random bottle, breaking it to pieces.  
  
Mystery looked in awe at the slingshot that now dangled from Spot's suspenders. Jack rolled his eyes at Spot's showing off. "I t'ought dat maybe you'se could teach dese goils how ta shoot a slingshot. Mystery and Fiahfly seeming interested in shootin' one since they saw one of yer boys walkin' around with one, an' it can't hoirt 'em any ta learn."  
  
Spot nodded, "Well if dey can shoot decently well den I'll teach 'em. If dey got no aim, den I ain't gonna waste me time. Now lets get started."  
  
Spot went into his lodging house really quick and came back out with two slingshots. "If you'se can shoot wid dem well enough by da end of da day, den dey're yers. If ya can't shoot worth beans, den ya can't keep 'em, got it?"  
  
Mystery and Firefly nodded, and took the two slingshots. Spot gave them a couple of marbles, and showed them how to hold the slingshot. Then he told them how to aim, and then release it, so that the marble would go flying in that direction.  
  
Spot pointed to another bottle sitting on top of a wooden box. "Alright, Fiahfly, let's see if ya can hit dat bottle ovah dere."  
  
Firefly nodded, fit her marble into the sling, took aim, and let it go flying. She hit the bottle square in the middle, and broke it into many pieces.   
  
Spot smirked in satisfaction, and then pointed out another bottle, and told Mystery to break it. Mystery put her marble into the sling, took aim, and then let it go flying. Like Firefly, she hit the bottle in the middle, breaking it in pieces.  
  
Spot nodded, "yeah, you goils can shoot well enough. Dere ain't much more I'se can teach ya, all I'se gotta say, is fer ya ta practice."  
  
"So we can keep the slingshots?" Firefly asked.  
  
"Yeah, ya goils earned 'em." Spot answered.  
  
Mystery and Firefly smiled as they stuck their slingshots into their suspenders. Jack and Race came over from where they were watching, and congratulated them.   
  
The girls thanked Spot, and then they left Brooklyn.  
  
"Hey, Race exactly, how old is Spot?" Firefly asked as they walked back to Manhattan.  
  
"Well...I'se t'ink dat he's about 16, why?" Race answered.  
  
"'Cause he looked more like 12." She answered.  
  
Racetrack grinned, "I wouldn't advise ya tellin' dat ta Spot's face. He's got an ego dat's higher den da Brooklyn Bridge and he don't like ta get insulted."  
  
"If he's so young, den why does he need a cane?" Mystery asked, Jack.  
  
"'Cause he loiks ta show ya whose boss, and I guess he t'inks dat he's more intimidatin' wid dat t'ing." He answered.  
  
"Heya, Spot! Dere's some people 'ere ta see ya!" a Brooklyn newsie called as soon as Jack, Race, Myst, and Fire had left.  
  
"Who?" Spot asked, not particularly interested in seeing anyone at the moment. He was practicing with his slingshot.  
  
"How's I supposed ta know? Just two guys," the boy answered.  
  
"Fine, send them over," Spot answered absentmindedly. It was probably just a few newsies who saw the slingshot lesson and wanted one also. "What da ya want?" he asked when the two walked up to him.  
  
"Ya just taught two girls how to use a sling shot," one pointed out.  
  
"Very observant. Want a lesson?"  
  
"No, we just want to know what you know about them," the other one said speaking up.  
  
Spot turned around. "Why? Ya lookin' fer a date or something?" he grinned. "I know some other girls I could hook ya up with..."  
  
"We're not looking for dates. Now just tell us what you know about them and we won't have to make you," The older one said threateningly.   
  
"Who the heck are you?" Spot demanded, not intimidated.  
  
"None of your business, now what can ya tell us about them?"  
  
"Nothin'. Jus' taught 'em how ta use a slingshot. That's it," Spot said innocently, using the fact that he looked a lot younger than he was, to help him.  
  
"Ya have ta know more than what you told us, you seemed like good friends with the two gentlemen."  
  
"Nope, sorry. What do ya need them for anyway?"  
  
"Business... something we need to take care of," one of them said, crossing his arms, making the Liberty symbol on his arm becoming visible.   
  
Spot saw it but didn't say anything. "Yeah, I know where they're stayin'...and who they're with. Harlem, they're goin' wid two guys named Cactus and the other guy's name is Rebellion I believe." He knew the two guys from the Harlem LH and knew they'd help out and they'd know something about this gang, being gang members previously themselves.  
  
"Ya betta be tellin' da truth," one of them told him before they turned and left. Spot waited about ten minutes, making sure they were gone until he headed to Manhattan. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
  
"That guy better be right," Chris said, as they walked down the dock, looking over his shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry, if he isn't, he'll be sorry," Matthew muttered.  
  
On the way to Harlem the boys hardly spoke, and when they reached the Harlem lodging house, Chris knocked on the door. "Rebellion and Cactus here?" he asked gruffly.  
  
"I'm Rebellion, who are you?" Rebellion said, not stepping out of the doorway. He looked the two over, and noticed the gang symbols on their arm bands, he tensed.  
  
"Nobody just wanted to know something...is Cactus here by any chance?"  
  
"Cactus! Some guys here would like to talk to us," Reb said, calling up the stairs. A minute later, a boy appeared at the top of the stairs, and he nodded to the two boys.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Just looking for two girls...Mystery and Firefly. Know where they'd be?" Chris asked, pushing open the door a little wider and stepping inside.  
  
Rebellion looked at Cactus for a minute wondering what was going on, but he had learned in situations like this, something was going on and these guys had been sent there for a reason. "Who sent ya 'ere?" he asked, hoping for a little more information.  
  
"Nobody that you'd care about," Matthew answered icily. "Now are they here or not?"  
  
"They're out, care to leave a message?" Cactus said stepping in. "And no, we don't when they'll be back, we don't keep them on leashes."  
  
"Just tell them we stopped by, they'll know who we are," Matthew answered and turned and left.  
  
When they had gone, Cactus turned to Rebellion, "Mystery an' Fiahfly. I t'ink dey're da new goils in Manhattan, I t'ink it's time fer us ta take a visit ovah dere."  
  
"Right." Rebellion answered. The headed out the door in the direction of Manhattan.  
  
When they reached the Manhattan Lodging House they pushed open the door. Their eyes met with an old man sitting behind a desk. "May I 'elp you?" the man asked them.  
  
"Yeah, do ya know where Kelly, Mystery, or Fiahfly is?" Rebellion asked.  
  
"Yes, I believe dey are at Tibby's." the man said.  
  
"T'anks." The newsies replied and headed back out the door.   
  
They reached Tibby's and searched the booths and tables for Jack Kelly. Finally they saw him sitting with the two girls and Racetrack. They walked over and sat down.   
  
"Heya, Cactus, hey, Reb." Jack said.  
  
"Heya, Jack. Just wanted ta let ya know dat 2 boys were lookin' fer Mystery an' Fiahfly. Dey's was wearin' a band on deir wrist, but I didn't recognize da symbol." Reb told the Manhattan leader.  
  
Mystery and Firefly gasped and looked at each other. Thoughts were racing through their minds, "How could they have found us all the way here in New York?"  
  
Finally Racetrack's voice interrupted their thoughts. "Do ya know anyt'ing about dis?" He asked for the 3rd time.  
  
"Er...no, I don't know anyone who would be looking for us with bands on deir wrists." Mystery lied through her teeth.  
  
Jack looked suspiciously at her. "Ya shoah?"   
  
"Yeah, she's positive." Firefly butted in.  
  
"Well I don't see what much we'se can do till we see 'em. T'anks Reb, and Cactus fer da information. Talk wid ya latah." Jack said.  
  
Mystery stood up. "Well, we'se bettah git back ta sellin' our papes." She looked at Firefly.  
  
Firefly stood up as well, "yeah, we'se gotta go."  
  
Jack and Race looked at them, "we'll finish sellin' tageddah."  
  
"No!" Firefly said quickly, "I mean, uh, no ya ain't finished eatin'. We'll see ya back at da lodge tonoight."  
  
Mysteries nodded vigorously and before the boys could object the newsgirls were already out the door. "Oh, my gosh!" Mystery panted. "How did they ever find us here?"  
  
"Only a real idiot would tell them where we are...and only one person knew," Fire responded.  
  
"RICHIE!!!!! I am going to kill him the next time I see him!" Myst said angrily.   
  
"No time for worrying about that, we have to figure out what to do. We need a plan if they find us, and we obviously can't tell anyone. Should we try going to another state possibly?"  
  
Mystery shook her head. "No, that won't do any good... they'll just find us there too. We might as well just stay here and fight it out."  
  
Fire nodded. "At least they won't know where to find us for a while..."  
  
"Want to bet?" A voice spoke up behind them. The girls whirled around., and came face to face with Matthew and Christopher. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
  
  
Firefly looked over at Mystery and mouthed, "What are we going to do now??" Mystery just shook her head.  
  
"Traitors!" Christopher spat out, glaring angrily at them.  
  
"Traitors? Yeah, right. I don't know what you're talking about," Mystery answered crossing her arms.  
  
"Sure you do, want me to refresh your memory?" Matthew asked.  
  
Mystery whispered in Firefly's ear. "Well, it's either fight or flight. I'm taking fight!" She turned to the boys. "Yeah! Lets go!! You know I can beat you with one arm tied behind my back!" Mystery replied putting her hands in fighting position.  
  
"Yeah! Come on!" Firefly agreed, standing next to Mystery with her hands up as well.  
  
The four of them glared at each other menacingly. Christopher lounged at Mystery. She quickly sidestepped and tripped him, making him fall flat on his face.  
  
Matthew rushed at Firefly. She gave him a swift punch in the nose and a kick in the stomach.  
  
Christopher jumped up and threw a punch in Mystery's direction. She blocked it and hit him with a back kick in the chest.  
  
Matthew grabbed Christopher's arm to stop him from fighting. " C'mon," he said, knowing that they couldn't win. He turned to Mystery and Firefly. "You'd better watch your back, because the whole gang knows you're here, and the boss has paid a special visit to New York, just to get you two." He gave them one final glare and then turned around and staggered down the street with Christopher nursing his wounds.  
  
The girls watched them leave. "Wonderful, Christian decided to come." Firefly said facetiously.   
  
"Yeah, I know. If he really did come, then we're in BIG trouble." Mystery nodded. "So what are you we going to do? We certainly can't fight the whole darned gang, and I don't want to get the Newsies into this."  
  
"Right. Well all I know for sure is that they have to take us back to New Jersey before they can really hurt us." Firefly answered.  
  
"I know...and when I get back there, the first thing I'm going to do if I get the chance is strangle Richie." Mystery threatened.  
  
"Yeah, I'll hold him and you can strangle...that is, of course if we get the chance, which I highly doubt." Firefly answered.  
  
Then Mystery spotted Jack and Race coming out of the restaurant. "Come on, we've got the guys at twelve o'clock, lets go!" Mystery and Firefly hurried down an empty alley.  
  
Mystery looked at Firefly. "So do you think we should run again? I mean, maybe this time we can get away to the west or something. Someplace where no one will know us, and we definitely won't be mailing that jerk, Richie again."  
  
"But, Mystery, we can't just keep running all our lives. Sometime they're going to catch up to us somehow. Christian's got people everywhere, and sure, it might not be tomorrow that he find us, or the next day, but sometime he'll find us."  
  
"You're right. I guess we can keep a low profile and watch our backs for the time being. Sometime we'll have to fight them though."   
  
"Yeah, but we'll give them a good fight." The two friends left the alley, and headed back to the Lodging House.  
  
When they walked in Racetrack and Jack greeted them. "Heya, goils! We're just about to start a game of poker, wanna join us?" Racetrack asked them, as he shuffled the cards.  
  
"Nah, I'se tired, I t'ink I'se gonna lay down fer a while." Mystery declined.  
  
"Yeah, me too. I'll catch ya'll latah. Have fun!" Firefly followed Mystery up the stairs to the girls bunk room.  
  
Racetrack looked at Jack. "Dat's weird, I've nevah known Firefly ta decline playin' pokah befoah."   
  
Jack shrugged, "There's a first time for everything, I guess, although it is a little unusual. But then again unusual stuff has been going on lately," he said and sat down at the table to play poker.   
  
"Still...I'm gonna go up and just make sure they're okay, want to come?" Race asked, setting the cards down.  
  
"Sure, why not..." Jack answered, following Race upstairs, the girls voices drifted through the door and they could hear their conversation.  
  
"Well, what are we going to do now? Where do you think Christian is?" Mystery asked sitting down on the bed, and swinging around her slingshot.  
  
"How am I supposed to know?!? You're the one who spent all the time hanging out with him!" Firefly shot back angrily.  
  
"I didn't spend that much time with him, okay?? It's not my fault we had to run all the way up here to get rid of the Liberty in Jersey for busting into that house!!! Who said I wanted to be a newsgirl? And who said I want to be here with two thugs on my back?" Mystery yelled back, just as angry.  
  
"Well, this wasn't my first choice either, but if we don't find him before he finds us than we're in big trouble, ya know they'll kill us if they have to, they won't wait for Jersey and all because of that idiot Richie!" Kaitlin said, punching the wall. "But there are a million places to hide..."  
  
"And if the newsies find out..." Mystery added, letting her sentence trail off.  
  
"Then we're in trouble," Firefly responded. "Okay, now, when we do find Christian, then we're going to tell him we had nothing to do with it and go home without getting hurt, hopefully."   
  
"Oh yeah, like we're just going to walk in there and out in one piece, nice thought though," Mystery said sarcastically.  
  
"Fine I give up, I'm going to go look for him now!" Fire said angrily opening the door and coming face to face with Jack and Racetrack. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.  
  
"Just wanted to see how ya were, we just got here, honest," Race responded, still trying to absorb what he had heard.  
  
Firefly still in a bad mood, snapped back, "Yeah right, you were listening. Mystery we have some spies here. I'm going I'll be back later."  
  
Mystery came to the door, and when she saw Jack she looked surprised, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"What's going on?" Jack asked as he watched Fire storm down the stairs.  
  
Mystery held open the door and sighed. "C'mon in, I'll fill you in on everything." Jack came into the room with Race "Firefly will be okay, she'll be back soon," Mystery said and they all sat down on the bunk beds. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
  
  
"Okay... exactly how much did ya hear?" Mystery asked, trying to figure out exactly where to start explaining things from.  
  
"Just about everythin'. Doesn't mean I understand it though, who's Christian? What gang? An' what's Joirsy got ta do with ya?" Jack asked.   
  
"Hold on let me start at the beginning then..." Mystery said and sighed. She sat down on her bed crossed legged and pulled her arm band out of a box.   
  
"Hey, that's like da ones dat dose two guys were wearin', da ones dat came ta Tibby's," Race exclaimed.  
  
"That's because they are the same," Mystery said simply. "And my name's not really Mystery, and Firefly and I didn't meet on a train and her name isn't Firefly. We both lived in New Jersey and we're members of a gang called "The Liberty" not one of the best choices we ever made... The leader of the group was named Christian, and he's a pretty mean guy as you would expect him to be, the two guys you saw were Chris and Matthew. They were sent by Christian to bring us back to Jersey. Right before we left, our job was to rob this house, a very wealthy family; well we got caught. In exchange for no time in prison, we gave the cops the name and location of the gang. Well Christian found out, and had to move headquarters, which made him really mad and then noticed we weren't there..."  
  
"And he figured out it was you guys," Race finished.  
  
"Right, but by that time we were already on the train and we just stayed there until it stopped here, and then we met you guys. We would have been fine, had we not written a letter to an old friend, and he turned us into Christian, and he and a few members of The Liberty took a trip up here. We had a fight with them today, luckily we won. But eventually we're going to have to figure out what we're going to do. Oh and by the way, my name is Ashlee, and Fire's is Kaitlin," she added.   
  
"Why didn't ya just tell us?" Jack asked. "We could help ya, the newsies are a pretty big group, we could help ya with these guys."  
  
Ashlee shook her head, "Nope this has to be just us, but thanks, we've thought about that before. We know how to fight and take care of ourselves, we were in a gang remember."  
  
"Which explains why ya were so good wid a slingshot," Spot said, coming into the room. "Sorry, I couldn't help but hear da last part, I came ta tell ya dat dose guys are askin' 'round again."  
  
"Heya, Spot," Jack said, holding out his hand for a spitshake.  
  
"Well don't worry, they're idiots anyway, and it's not like they're gonna find us, Kaitlin and I know how to get rid of them," Ashlee said confidently.  
  
"Sure ya don't want any help?" Spot asked, "Brooklyn and Manhattan can be pretty strong tagedda, and I'm sure Harlem would join us, and Cactus an' Reb 'ave some connections ta oddah gangs."  
  
"Maybe..." Ashlee responded. She looked over at the clock.  
  
Kaitlin came running into the room. "Where have you been?" Ashlee asked.  
  
"That doesn't matter, what matters is on my way back to the LH I saw Christian. Not where he stays or anything, I just saw him, he didn't see me. We didn't get into a fight or anything like that, he was just standing there... I wasn't even looking for him!!! I thought I should come back and get ya."  
  
Ashlee winced, and she turned to the Newsies. "We appreciate your help, but really, this isn't your fight. Kaitlin and I need to take care of this ourselves. I don't want to feel responsible if anything happens to you guys. Don't worry, we know how to take care of ourselves."  
  
"But to a degree, it is our fight. Newsies stick togeddah, and you're now Newsies. Anuddah t'ing is dat your our friends, and friend's help each uddah out." Jack responded.  
  
Kaitlin looked at Ashlee, "So you told them everything?"  
  
Ashlee nodded, "They deserved to know."  
  
Kaitlin agreed with Ashlee, "Ashlee's right, we don't want to put you guys in danger. "The Liberty" is a tough gang...the toughest in Jersey actually."  
  
Spot smirked, "Brooklyn moight not be a gang, but we'se da toughest Newsies in New Yawk. Everyone feahs us."  
  
"Would you guys please step outside? Ashlee and I need to talk it over." Kaitlin told them. The boys nodded, and stood in the hallway.   
  
"We do need their help." Ashlee said.  
  
"Yeah, I know it, but I feel bad, because we brought this upon ourselves, and now the Newsies have to pay for it. "The Liberty" is ruthless, and they'll kill anyone who stands in the way of what Christian wants. And plus, Christian doesn't need to bring the Newsies to Jersey to kill them...since they're not in the gang." Kaitlin reminded her friend.  
  
Ashlee agreed, but said, "But, I know Christian...and he'll kill us the first time we set foot in Jersey. The Newsies are our only hope at the moment, and if they're willing to help us out...then we should let them. It is their choice, it's not like we asked them to help us, they volunteered. Plus, with Brooklyn on our side, we have a good chance of winning. And another thing, if we can defeat the Liberty, then most likely they'll disband...and well...Jersey will be free from that gang."  
  
Kaitlin thought about it for a moment. "I suppose so...But I still feel pretty bad about bringing the Newsies into this, because it's our fault. If we didn't get busted robbing that house..."  
  
Ashlee nodded, "I know. But I, for one am glad to be out of the gang."  
  
Kaitlin grinned for the first time in hours, "Even away from Christian?" She teased.  
  
Ashlee playfully hit her friend on the arm, "Just leave that Christian thing alone, would ya? Geez!" Then Ashlee narrowed her eyes, "But when we fight them, I get Christian, got it?"  
  
Kaitlin raised an eyebrow, "Sure, I guess, but if we ever see Richie again, I get to beat the heck outta him."  
  
Ashlee smiled, "Only if I don't get there first."  
  
Kaitlin smiled back, "Ok, lets tell the guys." She went to open the door, and the 3 Newsies came tumbling into the room, apparently leaning on the door listening to their conversation.  
  
Kaitlin frowned, "When are you going to learn to stop eavesdropping?"  
  
The boys looked sheepish, and Ashlee laughed. "Well since we don't have to explain anything else, I think I'm going to take a little walk." Ashlee said, getting up from the bed.  
  
"Mind if I come with you?" Kaitlin asked. Ashlee shook her head, and they walked out of the Lodging House.  
  
"I feel guilty about bringing the Newsies into this fight." Ashlee admitted to her friend.  
  
Kaitlin nodded. "Me too, but you know there's nothing else we can do."  
  
"I know it." They walked in silence to Central Park, and then sat down on a bench.  
  
"It's been a while since we've seen Christian and the gang. Some of the gang members weren't all that bad, ya know?" Ashlee started.   
  
"Yeah." Kaitlin answered.  
  
"And Christian wasn't all that bad...as long as you didn't oppose him." Ashlee grinned, "And you do have to admit, he was pretty cute."  
  
Kaitlin snorted, "I suppose it depends on who you ask." Ashlee rolled her eyes, and they sat in silence for a while.   
  
"Aw, c'mon. Remember his really cute blue eyes, and his gorgeous blond hair?" Ashlee said, grinning.  
  
Kaitlin rolled her eyes, "I think you're still obsessed with him. All I remember, is how his blue eyes could pierce through anyone and make chills run through your veins, and how bossy he was."  
  
Ashlee shrugged, "Sure, he was bossy, but that's what a leader usually is...takes command. Whoa...why am I defending him? He's the one whose out to kill us."   
  
Kaitlin laughed, "Because you're in loooooooooove."  
  
Ashlee hit her friend, and they sat back in silence, enjoying the peaceful quiet of darkness.  
  
After about an hour, they got up and continued back to the Lodging house, coming in the back entrance so they wouldn't have to talk to anyone. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
  
  
Kaitlin woke up early that morning, when she heard a crash and the sound of glass shattering. Looking around she noticed a brick that had come though the window, with a note attached to it. She picked it up, read the note, and shook Ashlee awake. "Get up! I need to talk to you!"  
  
After a few minutes, and a lot of groaning, she finally woke up. "What do you want? It's like two in the morning."  
  
"I think we should get out of here," Kaitlin explained. "I don't think we should stay here any longer."  
  
"Can't this wait a little while? I'm tired."  
  
"No, because if we're going to leave we should go before anyone wakes up."  
  
Ashlee sat up, "what makes you think we should leave all of a sudden? And where are we going to go??"  
  
"Who knows, but they know we're here," Kaitlin said, "see?" She held out the brick with the note still attached, "We better go."  
  
"Where did that come from?!?"  
  
"It just came through the window," she motioned to the broken glass, "I think someone wants to talk to us, let's go."  
  
"Can't we sleep some more first?" Ashlee complained. "It's just a brick, who cares?"  
  
"I do, c'mon," Kaitlin said pulling her out of bed, and throwing her clothes at her. "Get ready, we'll leave soon."  
  
Ashlee and Kaitlin packed up their things. Ashlee yawned as she shouldered her bag, "I thought the Newsies were going to help us."  
  
"Did you even read this note?" Kaitlin asked impatiently.  
  
Ashlee shook her head, "It's dark outside, and you were waving it in front of my face, so no I didn't." She remarked sarcastically. Ashlee was always in a bad mood in the morning. She grabbed the brick out of Kaitlin's hand as they walked out of the Lodging House.  
  
"Dear 'Mystery' and 'Firefly',  
Heh, I find your names quite amusing actually, but on to more important things. Don't think that you can hide behind the 'Newsies' for the rest of your lives. You don't seem to understand how big my gang is. I have people everywhere, and there is no way that a bunch of kids selling newspapers can defeat my gang. You, of all people should know that, being that you've been in a couple of tough fights yourself with 'The Liberty' and we still pulled out a win. Yes, I've heard how tough the Brooklyn Newsies are, but they really don't hold a candle to us. Sure, they have 'slingshots', but you know that 'The Liberty' fights with a bit more intensity then with play-toys, such as slingshots. I remember as a child that I used to play with my slingshot. They are children's toys, and they won't be able to defend you in a fight. That's why I think it would be best to leave your new friends out of it, come back to New Jersey with us, and we can negotiate. You two are valuable gang members, top thieves in the gang, and I don't want to kill you unless I absolutely have to. Meaning, if you stay in New York any longer. Yes, I know that the rules call that we kill all traitors, but I am now the leader and I can make up my own rules now. Besides, I don't really consider you all 'traitors' more like scared gang members in trouble with the police. Please come to 'Central Park' as soon as you're able so we can talk things over a bit.  
  
Sincerely,  
Christian"  
  
Ashlee almost fell over laughing, "Yeah, that's Christian for you."  
  
Kaitlin shot Ashlee a disapproving look, "Ashlee, this is not laughing matter! Our lives and the lives of the Newsies are in danger, and you're just walking there laughing your head off! Sheesh! Sometimes I wonder at your sanity, and this would be one of them."  
  
Ashlee shrugged, "Sorry. Anyway, are we running for it, or are we going to meet up with Christian and the gang at lovely Central Park?"  
  
Kaitlin rolled her eyes, "I don't see how you can be so good humored about this. Anyway, Christian was right, he has people everywhere so it's not like we can run anywhere. I suppose that it would be best to go meet with him, and see what he's got to say. I mean, it does say in the letter that he won't kill us..."  
  
Now, it was Ashlee's turn to roll her eyes, "Christian is about the best liar I know, and even better in a letter. But if that's what you want to do, then go for it."  
  
Kaitlin and Ashlee soon reached Central Park, and easily spotted Christian, with Chris and Matthew. "Good, he only brought two people, the two idiots called Chris and Matthew. If they try anything, it shouldn't be too hard to beat them." Kaitlin whispered to her friend.  
  
"Well Christian fights like about four people, so we should be careful." Ashlee responded.  
  
They reached Christian and Chris and Matthew. Christian smiled, and shook hands with Kaitlin and Ashlee. "Nice to see you again, Mystery and Firefly."  
  
The girls could hear snickering in the back by the two gang members. Kaitlin rolled her eyes, "Just cut to the chase, Christian. We don't have all night...well morning now..."  
  
Christian nodded, "I agree, I'm a busy man, and taking so much time out of my schedule to come to New York doesn't exactly please me. Well to 'cut to the chase' as you put it, I just wanted to propose to you, that if you can prove yourself worthy to come back and be a gang member again we won't kill you. But if you refuse to do it, then we'll kill you now in New York without taking you back to Jersey, considering you aren't really gang members anymore either." He looked at their empty wrists that no longer held the gang member symbol.   
  
Kaitlin and Ashlee immediately looked at each other, "Well before we commit to anything, at least tell us what you want us to do."  
  
Christian smiled, "Of course, I would be happy to. To prove yourselves worthy again, you have to go back to the Lodging House, and steal all the money that the old man takes in everyday that the Newsies pay him for their room and board."  
  
Ashlee's jaw dropped, "You have got to be kidding! Are you out of your mind!"  
  
"Oh, and another thing, if you don't do that task, then not only will we brutally kill you, but also your new friends Jack and Racetrack." Christian smiled evilly. "Think about it for a couple of minutes," Christian turned to Chris and Matthew, and they walked a little ways away from the two girls, letting them think over Christian's idea.  
  
Ashlee blinked for a moment, and then turned to Kaitlin. "Why don't we just beat them up now and get it over with?"  
  
Kaitlin shook her head, "Because we'd be out numbered, Christian fights like four people remember?"  
  
Ashlee shrugged, "I don't really care at this time. He's pretty much threatening the Newsies, and us and that makes me pretty ticked off. It's not like there's anything else we're going to do. There's no way I'm going to steal from Kloppman, and I definitely am not going to down without a fight."  
  
Kaitlin thought about it for a moment, "Well...that's true. But maybe we could talk Christian out of it?"  
  
"There is no way we can talk him out of it. Christian knows he's got the upper hand and he isn't going to let go."  
  
Christian heard his name, and thinking they had reached a decision came over. "So decided yet?"  
  
Ashlee smiled sweetly, "Yeah, this is our answer." And then she punched him in the eye with all her power.  
  
Christian staggered back a moment, surprised. Kaitlin rolled her eyes at her friend. "She never listens, does she...?"  
  
Christian snapped back to reality and chaos broke loose. Matt and Chris jumped Kaitlin. She dodged them both and hit Matt with a swift kick in his shins, then turned around and dealt a blow to Chris, knocking him to the ground.  
  
Matt was the first to recover and then rushed at Kaitlin with full force. Kaitlin sidestepped and before he could stop himself, he ran into the trashcan, falling in, headfirst. Chris got up from the ground, and threw a punch at Kaitlin. He landed the punch at her eye, but Kaitlin recovered fast and gave him an upper jab to his chin. Matt finally dug himself out of the trashcan, and hit her in the back. Kaitlin turned around and threw him a palm strike at his nose.  
  
Christian watched as Kaitlin beat up on Matt and Chris, and then turned to Ashlee, venom leaping into his eyes. "Not one of your best ideas, Ashlee." He said with a deceptively calm tone.  
  
"Actually, it was one of my best. I should have done it a while ago." Ashlee shot back.  
  
Christian and Ashlee stood there a moment, glaring at each other, and both waiting for the other one to make the first move. Finally Christian shot out a punch. Ashlee blocked it, and hit him in the stomach with a back kick.  
  
Christian grabbed her foot before it could hit the ground, and flipped her over on her back. He was about to smash his foot into her face, when Ashlee quickly rolled to one side. Ashlee got up, and took a quick look at her friend who was holding her own with Matt and Chris. Suddenly she felt a blow to her eye, and she quickly turned and did a walking back hook kick, kicking Christian in the head. She followed her walking back hook kick with a swift punch at his nose, with all her might.   
  
Christian felt his nose crack, and then blood gushed forth. His hand flew up to his nose to try and stop the bleeding. He looked up at Ashlee who was smirking at him, and then he hit her cheek, full force.   
  
Ashlee staggered back a little way from the impact, and Christian motioned to Matt and Chris to leave. Matt had various bruises on his face, with bits of trash sticking to his hair, and Chris looked like he had gotten a mild concussion, and was following Christian kind of off balance, like he was drunk.  
  
Kaitlin came panting up to Ashlee. "You just had to fight them, didn't ya...?" She looked in pretty good shape, except already discoloration started forming around her eye, and her nose was bleeding a bit.  
  
"I guess you gave them more they you got, huh." Ashlee responded, as she felt a bruise forming on her check and eye.  
  
Kaitlin shrugged, "They weren't all that hard. I guess we'll go back to the Lodging House, and see what Christian does next. Thanks to you he'll probably kill us at the first chance."  
  
"Sorry, I just couldn't stand that he was threatening out friend's when they haven't done anything." Ashlee responded as they headed back to the Manhattan Lodging House.  
  
They reached the Lodging House, and Ashlee put cold water on her face to try and stop the bruising, while Kaitlin worked on stopping the blood from her nose, while holding a cold cloth to her eye.  
  
"Ugh," Kaitlin moaned. "I think I broke a couple ribs when Matt hit me in the back..."  
  
"I think I did too, Christian has gotten better since we last saw him," Ashlee said grimacing.  
  
"Here, hold on, I found some tape, I'll tape yours up for ya," Kaitlin said and started pulling the tape around her ribs. When she was finished, Ashlee did the same for Kaitlin.  
  
"Good as new.... I think the blood has stopped... How are ya doing?" Kaitlin asked. "You have one heck of a shinah there."  
  
"It'll be okay I think... just a little swollen and really bruised," Ashlee responded picking up a band aid and putting it on the cut on her arm.  
  
"How are we going to explain this? I mean they're bound to notice, broken ribs, bruises, black eyes..."  
  
"Just say we decided to work on our fighting skills," Ashlee answered. "There's no reason they should know, although it might be a good idea to tell them."  
  
"I think we should warn Kloppman, they might try and steal his money too, although there isn't much of it, and we don't want the newsies to try and fight them, we don't know how good they are at fighting... Besides, I really don't want them involved."  
  
"True, I would agree, c'mon let's go get our papes, we'll just act like nothing happened." 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
Ashlee and Kaitlin were the first to the distribution center, although it was already closed. "They should open soon," Kaitlin remarked. "Everybody needs to sell early, and it's already light out."  
  
Ashlee nodded, and they went to stand in line. After about twenty minutes, the newsies began to show up. She turned so that she was facing the distribution center, and no one would see her black eye, or the cut on her arm, or any of her bruises. Kaitlin followed in example, and they both bought their papers hurriedly, trying not to look at anyone.  
  
On their way out the gates, they saw Jack and Racetrack walking straight towards them. "Let's go out this way," Kaitlin suggested pointing to the other exit.  
  
"Hey goils!" Jack called out. "How's it rollin'?"  
  
"Oh fine, just fine," Ashlee answered, lucky that the two newsies were still far away and could not see her black eye.  
  
Kaitlin leaned over and whispered, "So much for pretending nothing happened, they're obviously going to notice..." she said as the two got closer. "So how are you?" she asked them, pretending nothing was wrong.  
  
"Good headlines today," Ashlee remarked, since she couldn't think of anything else to say.  
  
"What happened?" Jack demanded as soon as he saw Ashlee and Kaitlin.  
  
"Nothing really, just decided to practice our fighting skills," Kaitlin answered.  
  
"Yeah right," Racetrack said, "what the heck happened? And what's that?" he asked pointing to the note from Christian she had shoved in her pocket.  
  
"Oh that's nothing," Ashlee responded for Kaitlin, "She's holding it for me, it's a letter to a friend back in Jersey."  
  
Jack narrowed his eyes, "Did this have something to do with that gang you told us about?"  
  
"Fine, we had a little run in with him, here you can read it yourself, but it wasn't bad, honest," Kaitlin said pulling out the piece of paper and handing it to Jack, who read it quickly and then handed it to Racetrack.  
  
He glared at them, "You should have told me, I thought we were in this together!!!"  
  
Ashlee looked down, and suddenly got interested in reading the headlines. Kaitlin sighed, "Well, we are...or were... but it was late, we weren't thinking right, and the note kind of scared us! Gosh! Christian has been following us, and watching us the whole time! He knows that you wanted to get involved! They're dangerous...maybe it would just be better to go back to Jersey and leave the Newsies out of it."  
  
Ashlee's head shot up, "No way am I going back to that hole in Jersey. They're going to have to kill me here if they're going to do it... Anyway, Jack...they wanted us to steal from Kloppman , and I wouldn't go for it, so I punched Christian. Then chaos broke loose, and Kaitlin was preoccupied with Matt and Chris while I dealt with Christian. Not one of my better ideas, but I was pretty ticked by that time... Anyway, I think it would be better if the Newsies just let us deal with it. Christian was right, slingshots aren't going to harm "The Liberty" that much. The gang is ruthless, and unmerciful. They'll kill anyone who gets in the way without a second thought. I'm sorry we brought you into it."  
  
Racetrack made a weird face, and protested, "You didn't bring us in! We want to help ya! So just stop bein' so darned stubborn an' let us 'elp ya! Alright?"  
  
Jack nodded, "Yeah, aftah we sell our papes, lets go ta Brooklyn and see Conlon. I think he needs ta know what's goin' on, and what happened wid ya two last night. Which wasn't a smaht idea! Goin' ta see dose guys by yourselves."  
  
Ashlee shrugged, "At least we let them know we're not going down without a fight."   
  
Kaitlin nodded, "Well, we'd better get a move on or else there's going to be no good selling spots left. See you guys later. We'll be up with you again at Tibby's around noon, alright?"  
  
Race nodded, "Alright. But ya shoah ya don't want us ta sell wid ya?"  
  
Ashlee shook her head, "Nah, that's alright. It's better not to sell with more then one another person anyway..."  
  
"Ok, den. We'll see ya latah. Take care, and stay away from dat Christian dude!"  
  
"Believe me, we will." Kaitlin reassured the boys, as then headed towards Central Park.  
  
"I'm so confused! There just seems like there's no way to beat Christian! It was stupid for us to tell the policeman about The Liberty, because spending years in jail sure is better then fearing for out lives!" Ashlee said angrily.  
  
Kaitlin nodded, "Well we really shouldn't have joined the gang in the first place. That would have saved us from jail AND from Christian."  
  
"True..." Ashlee said as she handed a lady one of her papers. "There just doesn't seem like anyway to beat them though. The Newsies are the only chance we have, and I don't even think that's enough. Slingshots aren't really any match with that the Liberty uses. Plus, the Liberty was trained to fight and stuff, whereas the Newsies were trained to sell papers..." Ashlee sighed, "I don't know what to do...but there's no way I'm going to back Jersey unless Christian will leave us alone and we can strangle Richie."  
  
"Yeah I know it. Well, we'll just wait and see what Spot has to say, and maybe someone will think of a good plan or something.  
  
Mystery nodded reluctantly.   
  
"Well you know, we could always carry knives with us," Kaitlin said. "We'd have to get some first of course, and no telling the newsies, so we'd have to find one on our own..."  
  
"I know, but I don't like the idea of using knives, people could get killed, but we might have to," Ashlee said reluctantly. "Personally I like fighting with out weapons."  
  
"So do I, do you think I like knowing that there is a guy standing in front of me, who wants me dead, with a sharp knife in his hand?"  
  
"Of course I didn't think you liked it. But ya know, that won't be a fair fight."  
  
"I know, we were in the gang remember? We learned how to fight from them, so maybe we'll have a little bit of an advantage knowing how they fight," Kaitlin said selling a few papers to the people walking by.  
  
"Well let's not think about it right now, we'll have plenty of time to think later, right now we should finish selling our papes."  
  
Kaitlin nodded. "Of course, besides they're not doing anything right now."  
  
"Well not anything we know of," Ashlee answered.   
  
"Heya," Race said walking up to them.  
  
Kaitlin turned. "I thought we were gonna meet up later."  
  
"Well Jack and I finished selling so we thought we'd see how you were doing," Race answered.  
  
"How's it going?" Jack asked.  
  
"If you mean have we gotten into any fights, the answer is no." Mystery said and then ignoring Jack, started yelling out headlines again.  
  
"See you later guys," Kaitlin said following Mystery, leaving them standing there.  
  
"Ya know, maybe we should have a chat with the Manhattan and Brooklyn newsies, before meeting up with them," Jack said, "we might be able to come up with a plan, because they'll never take anything we suggest seriously."  
  
"Sounds good, I'll get everybody and meet ya at the lodging house?"  
  
Within 30 minutes all the Manhattan and Brooklyn Newsies, Reb, and Cactus, were together, with Racetrack and Jack explaining about Mystery's and Firefly's predicament, and about their run in Christian the previous night. When they were finished they told the group they were open for suggestions on how to get rid of this gang.  
  
Skittery, being the grumpy pessimist that he is, shrugged, "Why are we puttin' ourselves in danger for some girls who could steal from us at any moment? Why don't we just give Myst and Fire to this Christian guy, so that he'll leave us alone?"  
  
Racetrack came over and smacked the boy upside the head, "'Cause, idiot, they're our friends and we should help them. Newsies stick taggedah and help each uddah out, an' since Myst and Fiah are now Newsies we need to help 'em out!"   
  
There were nods and agreements around the room, and Skittery shut up. Reb and Cactus stood up, "I think we need to teach Christian and his gang a lesson they'll understand." Reb said.  
  
Cactus nodded, "Yeah, I think the best way to get rid of them is something they'll know about, like having a rumble. That's something they should be familiar with, being that they're gang members and such, and I think we could take them."  
  
Suddenly the door to Tibby's opened, and Mystery and Firefly walked in, surprised to see all the Newsies all talking together. They heard the word rumble and they understood what they were talking about.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?!" Firefly demanded.  
  
"Uh...well...see, we decided to hold a meeting without you because we knew whatever we thought of you wouldn't take seriously." Racetrack explained hurredly.   
  
"Did you even think that WE would like to know what's going on? It's our business anyway, it's not yours. It doesn't even concern you!" Firefly shouted at them.  
  
Mystery laid a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, "Calm down, Kaitlin. They're just trying to help, and Race has got a point, we wouldn't have taken them seriously. Lets listen to what they have to say."  
  
Firefly, still red in the face, slumped down in a nearby chair, and Ashlee sat down next to her. Jack nodded to Reb and Cactus. "Well, Jack told us about your predicament, an' da only way ta get rid of 'em is somethin' their familiar with, and respect. So we were thinkin' of a rumble." Cactus explained to the girls.  
  
Firefly shook her head, "No way! There's no way you can beat 'The Liberty' in a rumble. They've got the best fighters in Jersey, Christian makes sure of that. They've been in tons of them, and they always win. No offense or anything, but they were trained in fighting, and you guys were not. Christian's gang fights with knives! They don't care who they hurt! They'll kill anyone who comes near them without a second thought!"  
  
Reb shook his head, "We've got connections, Cactus and I. We can get some of our gang friends to come and help out. They know how to fight, and I've seen the Newsies, they fight well. And believe me while I was in a gang I saw some pretty rough fights so I at least have an idea at what we're up against."  
  
Mystery sighed, "Think of this, Reb. Take the best gang in New York and multiply it by 3, and you've got the way 'The Liberty' fights."  
  
"Well you haven't exactly seen us fight," Reb pointed out.  
  
"And we don't want to, you are going to stay out of this!" Kaitlin said.  
  
"Kaitlin, come on, stop arguing," Ashlee said and then turned to Reb. "Alright, we'll accept your help, but if things get bad, ya get out off there. Got it?"  
  
Cactus shook his head, "No way."  
  
"Fine." Ashlee looked over at Jack, "Thanks," he just smiled at her.  
  
Kaitlin sat in her chair with an angry expression on her face.  
  
"Alright, well Kaitlin and I will go and find Christian, Matthew, and Chris.." Ashlee said standing up, Kaitlin following her. Neither of them said a word as they left Tibby's. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
  
"Let's see, where would he be?" Ashlee asked as they left Tibby's.  
  
"Who knows? But if we stay in one place long enough, they'll find us..." Kaitlin responded, shrugging.  
  
Ashlee nodded, "True, and it seems they have been following us around. But you know...since we want to find them we probably won't."  
  
Kaitlin shrugged, "Well, I have no idea where they could be, so why don't we just wander around a bit and see if they turn up."   
  
"Alright, sounds like a plan." The two girls started walking around Manhattan, keeping their eyes out for any of the gang.  
  
After about an hour they finally stopped at Central Park and sat down on a nearby bench. "I give up, there's no way we're going to find them." Kaitlin said to Ashlee.  
  
Ashlee slumped down, "Yeah I know it."   
  
Right after she spoke 3 figures appeared before them, smirking. "Go figure, you were following us the whole time, weren't you, Christian." Ashlee said, glaring at the leader.  
  
Christian nodded, "Of course."  
  
Kaitlin frowned, "And you knew we were looking for you!"  
  
Christian smirked, "That would be correct as well."  
  
"ARGH! Then why didn't you say something?!" Ashlee yelled at the boy.  
  
Christian smiled innocently, "Because it was more fun watching you wander about Manhattan looking for me, when we were right behind you." Matt and Chris snickered, and Kaitlin shot them visual daggers.  
  
"But anyway, moving on, what exactly did you want to see me about? Did you change your minds?" Christian asked expectantly.  
  
"There's no way in heck we changed our minds." Ashlee responded.  
  
Kaitlin agreed, "The Newsies talked it over, and we want a rumble."   
  
Christian raised an eyebrow in amusement. "A rumble, eh? Seriously, ladies, I really would have thought you would have had more brains then you're showing now. You know that newsboys can't fight gang members!"   
  
Ashlee crossed her arms, "Well we have reason to believe we could beat you."  
  
Christian snorted, "I doubt it, but if you really want to sacrifice your friends' lives, well then that's your choice. Now...to set a time, how about two nights from now at 8:00 PM, here?"  
  
Ashlee and Kaitlin nodded, "Fine." The two girls turned on their heels and went back to the Lodging House.  
  
"Heya Kloppman," Firefly said walking in to the lodging house.  
  
"Is somethin' goin' on? Everybody has been actin' pretty strange lately..." he said as they walked past him to the stairs.  
  
"Nope, nothing is wrong. What would be wrong?" Mystery asked, following Firefly upstairs.   
  
"Alright guys, we found him," Firefly said sitting down on the floor. "He said two nights from now, 8:00PM. He also doesn't think we could beat him."   
  
"Ah don't worry about it," Jack said and sat down next to Mystery putting his arm around her. "Nothing is going to happen, they'll just leave peacefully and quietly, and we're stronger than them anyway."  
  
Cactus nodded in agreement, "Besides if they don't leave we're ready."  
  
"I want all of you to promise me, if they use weapons, which they probably will, you won't do anything crazy, like pull out a knife or anything."  
  
Firefly looked at Mystery a little sheepishly, and pulled two knives out of her pocket, and flicked open the blade, handing the other one to Mystery. "Took 'em when Chris and Matthew weren't paying attention, I wasn't Christian's greatest pick-pocket for nothing. Thought we might need them."  
  
Mystery smiled as she opened the blade and tested the sharpness against her hand. She nodded as she felt the blade knick her palm. Then she quickly turned around and sent the knife flying across the room, watching it land with a thunk in the opposite wall. She grinned and went to retrieve her knife. "Yup, I've still got it."   
  
Jack whistled, "Wow, you guys shoah don't kid around." He said, gulping as Mystery pulled the blade out of the wall.  
  
Firefly turned the knife in her hand, "Nah, when you're in a gang you take things seriously, especially when Christian is the leader." She twirled the knife and then locked the blade down.  
  
Mystery nodded in agreement, "Yup. Christian was always a tough and smart leader. He made us all take everything seriously, and definitely no fooling around."  
  
"How long were ya in da gang?" Racetrack asked.  
  
"Too long." Firefly answered. "We shouldn't have gotten mixed up with them in the first place. One of our worst mistakes, eh, Mystery?"  
  
"Oh yeah." The girl answered. "Definitely too long."  
  
"So ya two knew each uddah befoah ya joined da gang?" Jack asked.  
  
Mystery nodded, "Yeah, we've been friends for a really long time. We practically grew up together. And then we met up with Christian and he convinced us the gang was the way to go, and for some odd and unknown reason we thought it sounded very appealing, I guess we were both looking for adventure. If I was able to go back and change that day we joined, I would definitely go back and do it."  
  
Firefly nodded vigorously, "So would I. I'd do it in a heartbeat."  
  
An awkward silence followed, and finally the Firefly got up. "Well, I think I'm going to go sell the evening edition."  
  
Mystery followed suit, "Yeah, good idea. I think I will as well." The two girls left the room.  
  
"I hope we're not getting in over our heads with this gang..." Cactus said as they heard the Mystery and Firefly go down the stairs.  
  
"We're not. 'The Liberty' might be a good fighting gang, but we still have Brooklyn on our side, plus all our old buddies from our gang." Rebellion reassured the boy. "Plus, how good can a gang really be from New Jersey? I mean, they can't be any better then the gangs around here in this big city, where there's a gang lurking in practically every alley."  
  
Jack laughed, "Dat's a bit of an exaggeration, but I get your point. We 'ave tons of gangs, an' we were also brought up ta be streetwise and tough. So yeah, I t'ink we can take 'em on."  
  
"Yeah, I agree. I mean, 'ow tough can a gang be from a noice place loik New Joirsey be?" Race said.  
  
Cactus shrugged, "I just hope you guys are right." 


	11. Chapter 11

"Alright, now that that is done, why don't we go over to Medda's? We haven't been there yet," Kaitlin suggested.   
  
Ashlee nodded, "Sure it sounds like fun, plus we won't have to worry about Christian while we're there."  
  
Kaitlin nodded with a sigh, "Yeah I suppose... I still don't think we're doing the right thing." she reached into her pocket and pulled out her knife again, flicking it open. "I still say we should do it ourselves, I mean we don't even know these people all that well..."  
  
"We need their help and it'll be fine, we'll do most of the fighting, and put that stupid blade away! If Christian is watching he'll know you have them!" she frowned.  
  
Kaitlin smirked, "He already knows I have it no doubt. I mean who else could steal from Chris and Matthew and not get caught?" She opened the door to Medda's and walked inside.  
  
"Ugh," Ashlee said looking around, the scent of too much perfume hitting her nose.   
  
"Why anyone would want to work here I'll never know," Kaitlin said walking around, flicking the blade to the knife closed. "I wouldn't wear any of these if you paid me."  
  
"Velcome! and who might you be?" a woman dressed in a pink and purple outfit asked walking up to them.  
  
"I'm Mystery and this is Firefly we're the new newsies. Jack and Race suggested we stop by here and check everything out..." she said trying not to show her distaste for the woman's outfit on her face.  
  
"Vell hello! I am Medda the Swedish Meadowlark. I also own the place," She said with a smile waving her feather around. "Stay and watch the show, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."  
  
"Thank you," Kaitlin said politely even though inwardly she was groaning and rolling her eyes. Medda smiled and walked off and Kaitlin laughed. "have you ever seen anything that gaudy or fake? Too bad we didn't know about this place sooner! We could have hid here, and no one would have ever even thought of stopping to check here."  
  
Mystery grinned, "Yeah, I know. Oh well, I'm glad we're with the newsies."  
  
Kaitlin smiled at her friend, "You like him don't you?"  
  
"Who? I don't know who you're talking about," She mumbled.  
  
"I don't believe it! Ashlee Liedtke likes Jack Kelly the head of the Manhattan Newsies! Eh, he sure is different from Christian," she laughed. "Personally I think Racetrack is kind of cute. Maybe I'll ask him out after all this fighting is over, and Christian is gone."  
  
"I bet he would," Ashlee said nodding taking a seat in a chair near the wings of the stage.  
  
Kaitlin leaned back and watched as the show continued, when Medda came on stage she couldn't help but laugh, "I wonder who writes these things for her..." She thought outloud.  
  
Ashlee nodded in agreement, "she probably writes them herself, so shh..." she continued to watch. After about an hour, the show ended and Medda came backstage, and walked over to the two girls.   
  
"So how was it?" she asked them with a smile.  
  
"It was good...very well organized," Kaitlin said lamely, not wanting to tell the truth and hurt her feelings.   
  
"I agree," Ashlee said nodding her head and grabbing Kaitlin's arm pulling her towards the door, "We have to get back...so we'll talk to you later Medda." Medda nodded and waved a feather at them as they left.  
  
They walked back to the lodging house in silence, and then up to the bunkroom, where Jack, Race, Mush, Reb and Cactus were playing poker. Racetrack looked up, "heya Mystery, Firefly."   
  
Fire smiled and sat down next to him, and he draped his arm around her shoulders, "want to play?"   
  
She shook her head, "No, I'll just watch, I don't feel like playing."   
  
Jack smiled and said hello, and smiled as Mystery sat down next to him. "How about ya Myst?"  
  
"I'll watch too, I'm kinda tired, and I don't think I could concentrate," he nodded and took her hand.  
  
Firefly smiled at Mystery and leaned her head on Race's shoulder and watched the game. After a while, she started yawning. "I think I'm going to go to bed Race."   
  
He nodded and kissed the top of her head lightly, "alright." Firefly smiled as he kissed her, and got up and went over to her bunk. Mystery followed shortly after saying goodnight to Jack.   
  
"Night Kaitlin," Mystery said falling asleep almost instantly.   
  
Kaitlin had already fallen asleep, and didn't even have a chance to reply. 


End file.
